The damaged main entrance to Sandy Hook from Route 36 was covered with sand and debris from the bay, ocean and roadway on Nov. 2. / MARK R. SULLIVAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHer

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@ToddBBatesAPP

Only days after superstorm Sandy ripped into bridges and roads, the state approved rebuilding them without greater protection against future storms — a policy one flood expert criticized.

It “sends a message of rebuilding quickly and rebuilding like it was previously ... when there are programs and processes that can be brought to bear on all of those kinds of infrastructure to make them more safe and resilient,” said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, a national group dedicated to reducing losses from floods.

Activists have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to look into whether the order violates laws. The order by the state Department of Environmental Protection allows damaged public infrastructure to be repaired or replaced without significant changes or environmental permits. Activists are also concerned that the order may jeopardize federal disaster relief.

“We are trying to help people in the best way that we can, and our hearts go out to all the people that have lost so much in this storm, and we just don’t want to stand in the way,” DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said.

“There will be a time for that discussion, the broader discussion on how can we do it smarter, how can we do it better,” he said.

During a tour of coastal towns in Monmouth and Ocean counties Friday, Gov. Chris Christie said it will take years to rebuild the Jersey Shore, making it safer and better. Federal, state and local officials will have to work together on how to engineer and fund rebuilding efforts, he said.

Will N.J. learn?

Sandy destroyed or damaged thousands of homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure in the coastal flood zone. The storm also leveled protective dunes and trashed beaches, leaving oceanfront and Bayshore communities highly vulnerable to future storms. After previous disasters in New Jersey, officials have typically upgraded construction and environmental standards, providing greater protections for people and property.

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A key question is whether New Jersey will learn from superstorm Sandy’s catastrophic lessons, boost standards for building and rebuilding in the coastal flood zone or take other steps to upgrade protections. For now, state officials said they’re focused on recovering from the storm and helping people resume their lives.

The debate about how and where to rebuild comes as the sea level is rising as a result of climate change and storms are likely to cause even more severe flooding and damage in the future, according to experts.

North of Cape Hatteras, N.C., the rate of sea-level rise has been accelerating for 25 years, according to a recent study by a Virginia Institute of Marine Science emeritus professor.

At Sandy Hook, the sea level could rise by 21 to 35 inches by 2050, the study shows.

Michael Oppenheimer, professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University, said a 1-foot rise in sea level translates into the water moving 100 feet inland.

And an estimated 6.5 percent to 9 percent or more of New Jersey’s land will be affected by periodic coastal flooding over the next century, according to a study co-authored by Oppenheimer.

“We have to get much better defending ourselves from these storms while we reduce the emissions that cause global warming,” he said.

Risks in rebuilding

Much of New Jersey’s thick population and infrastructure is in coastal areas highly vulnerable to flooding, storm surge, erosion, sea-level rise and storms, according to the DEP. About 35 percent of the Garden State is in a flood hazard area.

However, construction of new housing, reconstruction of homes and the conversion of single-family homes into multifamily ones continues in hazardous coastal areas, according to the DEP.

In 2007, the DEP adopted revised Flood Hazard Area Control Act rules with tighter standards for development, partly to better protect the public.

On Nov. 3, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin signed an administrative order, with Gov. Chris Christie’s approval, that allows state, county and municipal agencies to repair or replace public infrastructure such as roads, bridges and bulkheads without permits.

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Agencies have six months to provide documentation of storm damage to the DEP to get retroactive approval of projects.

Professional engineers must certify that projects — “to the greatest extent practicable” — meet environmental rules, according to the order.

Both New Jersey Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the New Jersey Sierra Club have asked the EPA to review the order’s legality.

Berginnis, of the national floodplain group and former Ohio state hazard mitigation officer, said rebuilding as quickly as possible “leads to rebuilding that’s either at the same risk or possibly even more vulnerable than the original building.”

DEP spokesman Hajna said “we feel the administrative order is not only appropriate, it’s responsive to the needs of people — the real needs of people — and is necessary. Without the administrative order, there’s no telling how long it would take to get a basic road repaired.”

Big storm aftermath

After disasters, officials have opportunities to upgrade protections against future storms and floods, experts say.

Officials set tougher standards for building along the coast following the devastating March 1962 nor’easter.

After the 1991 Halloween storm and December 1992 nor’easter, state lawmakers amended the Coastal Area Facility Review Act, giving officials more power to protect beaches and dunes and regulate coastal development. The 1993 amendments also allow homeowners to rebuild homes (in the same footprint) that are destroyed by storms without a CAFRA permit.

In 1992, the state established a $15-million-a-year shore protection fund, later increasing it to $25 million annually.

Mark N. Mauriello, former acting commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he’s seen “a lot of storm damage in the past, but nothing like what we’ve seen in the past week, and it’s staggering.”

“I think the most important lesson we hopefully learn here is that we need to employ higher standards for coastal construction,” said Mauriello, director of environmental affairs and planning for Edgewood Properties, a residential and commercial development company in Piscataway.

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Lisa Ryan, spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Affairs, said the state, which has adopted the International Building Code, is focused on helping communities with their immediate needs. The code’s requirements for flood-resistant construction are consistent with Federal Emergency Management Agency mandates, she said via email.

Mauriello, a founder of the New Jersey Association for Floodplain Management, a chapter of the national group, said the state might want to consider “ramping up” acquisition of highly vulnerable properties to get people out of harm’s way.

Michael Drewniak, press secretary to Gov. Chris Christie, said “we are still very much in the throes of immediate repair and restoration of people’s lives, particularly on the barrier islands.”

While development and redevelopment in flood zones is “a critical question and always has been for New Jersey, it’s one that will be considered going forward, but not with urgency at this moment,” Drewniak said. “There’s too much immediate work to do to get people’s lives back in order.”